January 26, 2024 Brian Lebel's Old West Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/26/2024
Legend has it that sometime in early 1951, when Crosby's fame was at an all-time high, he and a friend were on a fishing trip near Vancouver, British Columbia. When the two went to get a room at a local hotel, they were turned away because Crosby, whom the clerk didn't recognize, was wearing a dingy denim jacket. Levi's learned of this and prompted them to make the singer a custom, Western-style, double-breasted denim tuxedo jacket, complete with a riveted boutonniere, made from the iconic red tabs that flag the back of Levi's jeans. On June 30, 1951, local dignitaries presented Crosby with the jacket at the Silver State Stampede, a rodeo in Elko, Nev. At the rodeo, Elko's mayor, Dave Dotta, also got a jacket from Levi's. On the inside of each tux was an oversize leather patch signed by the president of the American Hotel Association.
The patch was a "notice to hotel men everywhere," which entitled the wearer "to be duly received and registered with cordial hospitality at any time and under any conditions." Paramount Pictures was set to release the star's newest film, "Here Comes the Groom," and executives jumped at the chance to parlay the press into promotion.
A month later, the film premiered at the Hunter Theater in Elko, and standing proudly out front was Crosby in his denim tux. After the premiere, though, the jacket disappeared. But as the picture opened in other cities around the country, Levi's urged its retailers to exploit the story by sending them promotional window displays with replica tuxedo jackets, each with the leather patch that said, "Presented to Bing Crosby."
This jacket as told by Rex to his son was that Levi's, who was Rex's radio sponsor, asked him to present this jacket to Bing at a dinner during the San Francisco Rodeo. Bing didn't want it and gave it back to Rex. A great Levi's collector's piece, it has been speculated that only 200 of these were made.
Levis brand buttons on the cuffs and down the front, faux Levi's branded pocket square and lapel boutonniere made of Levi's brand tags. Jacket measures 18" from shoulder to shoulder, 21" armpit to armpit, 33" from the center down the back, and has an arm length of 24". Includes a letter of authenticity by Rex Allen Jr.
Provenance: Rex Allen Jr. Collection
Item Dimensions: 33" L.